Company misses deadline to remove illegal waste near Cultus Lake

A company has missed its deadline to remove thousands of tons of illegally dumped waste from a farm near Cultus Lake in B.C.'s Columbia Valley.

The waste on a property on Iverson Road near the lake, about 100 kilometres east of Vancouver, was originally dropped off at the site over the course of several months in 2022 without provincial approval, violating B.C.'s Environmental Management Act.

The waste — which contains large amounts of plastics, wood and other foreign materials that made it unsuitable for composting — was discharged by the Abbotsford-based organic waste conversion company Fraser Valley Renewables (FVR).

The company was ordered by the provincial Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) to remediate more than 14,000 tons of material by May 13.

However, the ALC says that the company has not done so, and is now in violation of the order.

The commission — which regulates all land that is part of the provincial agricultural land reserve — told CBC News in an email that it is considering further enforcement measures, including an administrative penalty or a court order to ensure compliance.

D'Arcy Henderson holds a handful of trash that blew from business waste piles into a neighbouring property in 2023. She still has concerns about the waste and hopes the province takes action. (Justine Boulin/CBC)

The company says weather conditions have stopped it from carrying out remediation work.

"The land owner and Fraser Valley Renewables are actively pursuing multiple options to relocate the product without going to an ALR site," said an FVR spokesperson in a statement.

"We are continuing to pursue facilities to take the product. However, due to winter conditions, and now with all the rain, access to the farmland is limited."

The FVR spokesperson said the company had "strong leads" for a solution in the near future.

Residents concerned

But residents of the Columbia Valley, just south of Chilliwack, B.C., question whether the company will actually follow through.

Concerns had been raised that the waste could leach into an aquifer below the soil and contaminate the local water supply.

Resident D'Arcy Henderson said she hopes authorities send a strong message to FVR by taking regulatory action against them, potentially with fines.

"I would just hope that, for once, they step up and do the right thing — not just for their own reputation, which I think must be in tatters, but also for the health of the community," she said of the company.

Henderson said she remains concerned with the impact of the waste on Cultus Lake, which is home to many fish species.

"We're all part of the larger picture," she said. "So if you want to call yourself renewable, let's get on it."

The waste includes contains large amounts of plastics, wood and other foreign materials. (Justine Boulin/CBC)

Months of dumping

The waste was dropped on 810 Iverson Rd., a property owned by farmer Bruce Vander Wyck, in 2022.

An FVR spokesperson told CBC News in January 2023 that the company was working with Vander Wyck to increase the nutrient values of his farm land. It was to be screened for foreign materials like plastics onsite.

Residents say they were first notified of the project in March 2022. In the months that followed, residents say as many as 12 semi-trailers per day were seen delivering waste. Complaints were filed to the Environment Ministry and the ALC in July.

By the time ministry inspectors visited the site on Nov. 17, 2022, some of the material had already been applied to the land.

Officers concluded that FVR's decision to store, screen and apply the untreated material at the farm amounted to discharging business waste without government approval, an offence that can carry a $1 million fine and six months imprisonment.

The ALC says it does not know where the waste is being relocated to, but it stipulates it cannot go to another site on the Agricultural Land Reserve.

FVR collects and processes municipal organic waste, grocery and restaurant waste, and yard waste throughout Metro Vancouver.